Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy
Event/Function Registration

All on or off-campus events/functions that involve alcohol and meet one of the three criteria below must be registered with the Office of the Dean of Students. *Events without alcohol also must be registered. You must meet with your Wilson Commons Student Activities or Fraternity and Sorority Affairs adviser to begin the event registration process.

Criteria triggering event registration:

  • More than 75 people are expected to be present at any one time, OR
  • Use of a common container of alcohol or distilled spirits by a licensed third party vendor is being requested. (Use of common containers or distilled spirits, other than that by a licensed third party vendor, is prohibited at all events/functions.), OR
  • The event is organized by University of Rochester students and is advertised or promoted to University of Rochester students in any manner, including advertisement and/or promotion through online social networks.

Registering an On-campus Event
To register an on-campus event with alcohol the interested student(s)/organization(s) meet with either their Wilson Commons Student Activities or Fraternity and Sorority Affairs adviser to fill out an Event Registration Form. This form must be submitted at least 10 business days (18 business days for larger events) before the anticipated event. 

In addition to basic information about the event (date, time, location, sponsoring organization, etc.), the event registration form requires the registrant to demonstrate that:

  • a manager for the event has been designated
  • a sufficient quantity of non-alcoholic beverages and food will be served
  • a sufficient number of trained social hosts will be present

The registrant will also be required to sign an “Event Responsibility Agreement” form indicating that the student/organization understands the policies related to hosting an event and will comply with those policies.

All approved Event Registration Forms will indicate the total number of alcoholic beverages that will be permitted at the event. The number of alcoholic beverages present at the location of the event cannot exceed the total number of beverages approved during the event registration process. If quantities of alcohol in excess of this total number are discovered at the location of the event immediately prior to or during the event the excessive alcohol will be confiscated and the event may be canceled. The University reserves the right to, and may, conduct random checks of any event or function to determine compliance with this policy.

Registering an Off-campus Event
Student groups wishing to register off-campus events which meet one or more of the three criteria listed above must meet with the organization’s staff adviser to fill out an Event Notification Form. If the event involves arranging for transportation between the University and an off-campus location you must register the event according to the Off-campus Events-Bar Bus Policy listed below.


Students must adhere to occupancy standards set by the Fire Marshal at all times. If the occupancy limit for the location of the event is exceeded at any time, the event will be shut down regardless of whether it complies with other criteria outlined in this policy.